The next Community Conversation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27 at Louisville Water Tower Park, 3005 River Road. The program will include a discussion of crime and Neighborhood Watch programs in District 9. We also want to hear from you on any topics, an unscripted, open conversation about your vision for D9 and the City. Please mark your calendar and join us – and bring along a friend or neighbor!

The D9 eNews has featured several solar installations over the last few weeks – and you’ll see more soon.  We are also working to encourage more use of solar throughout Louisville and have co-sponsored a resolution urging all Metro Agencies and Departments to support the vigorous growth of solar energy in Louisville and to aggressively pursue strategies designed to meet this goal.   The resolution lists some specific strategies that should be considered, including a city-wide education program, streamlining permitting, integrating solar into public infrastructure and streetlights, and others.  It also notes the economic and environmental benefits of solar installation.  

The resolution had its first reading last week, will be considered at a Sustainability Committee meeting on July 30 and could go before the entire Metro Council in August.  You can read it by clicking here, then selecting "text".   Let me know what you think!

One way to make our community more sustainable is to get involved with others who are working in the field – and a good way to do that is through the Louisville Sustainability Council (LSC), in which many District 9 citizens and businesses are involved.   An independent nonprofit organization, the LSC’s mission is to engage and collaborate with the community to facilitate the achievement of Louisville’s sustainability goals. The organization works to improve health and quality of life in Louisville by catalyzing community action to eliminate existing gaps. The LSC coordinates regional sustainability efforts by hosting events, connecting partners, collecting and disseminating data and facilitating community action teams. Businesses, nonprofits, public agencies, schools, families and individuals are encouraged to get involved.

Individual members and representatives of organizations are invited to participate in LSC Action Teams. The teams bring together people who share an interest in a particular environmental topic to implement strategies to promote sustainability and develop an action community. Teams are free to join and open to all individuals and organizations. Team members vary from concerned citizens to people representing organizations, government agencies, or private companies.  Current teams are:

• Community Engagement
• Green Building & Infrastucture
• Green Economy
• Transportation
• Tree Canopy & Urban Heat Island

Visit www.louisvillesustainabilitycouncil.org for more information. 

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

The Green Institute is an environmental leadership-education program established in 2012 by the Center For Neighborhoods, equips neighborhood leaders with the skills and resources needed to improve the environmental, social and economic resilience of their communities. Classes meet every Tuesday, 6:00 - 8:30PM at THE PARK, a shared workspace/co-working community located at 1229 S. Shelby Street, for 12 consecutive weeks (August 18th – November 10th). Dinner is provided, and the class is offered free of charge.

The Green Institute 2015 is open to all neighborhoods, Metro Council Districts and the whole community.

To register for the 12-week program, visit http://www.centerforneighborhoods.org, email info@centerforneighborhoods.org, or call John Hawkins at 502-589-0343

District 9 is known for the rail line that runs through the center of the district, from Irish Hill to Richlawn.  Most of us encounter trains regularly, without much thought to the dangers we face unless we act safely. 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet recently issued a reminder to be careful when driving through railroad crossings. Last year, Kentucky ranked twelfth nationally in the number of railroad crossing collisions. As a result, seven people were killed and 23 people were injured. Compounding the tragedy is the fact that every one of those incidents was preventable. Never race a train to the crossing – even if it’s a tie, you lose. The average locomotive weighs 200 tons. A train hitting a car is comparable to a car hitting a soda can. And trains can’t stop quickly enough to avoid a collision. It takes the average freight train traveling 55 mph more than a mile to stop. An oncoming train is always closer and moving faster than you think. So don’t ever drive around an activated railroad crossing gate. Remember, if you see tracks…think train!

The KYTC Minute video with these tips is here:  https://youtu.be/aAmh_2wjUjw.  Share it with others in D9 – and be careful out there!

A major project to install new curb, guttering and sidewalks along Drescher Bridge Avenue, between Brownsboro Road and Delmont Avenue in Clifton Heights, is nearing completion.  The project, which also includes drainage improvements and repaving, has been in the planning stages for several years.  The more than $210,000 cost is funded by District 9 Community Infrastructure Funds, along with funds from the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and Metro Public Works.  Repaving, from Brownsboro Road to Thompson Avenue, was finished this week and the remainder of the drainage and sidewalk improvements will be completed soon.  Discussions with Brightside and others for potential landscaping in the area are underway.   

 Please join us for the 16th Annual Back to School Block Party at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, 201 Reservoir Park on Friday, September 11th from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Enjoy FREE pizza, swimming, door prizes and family fun!  We need VOLUNTEERS to make this event successful.  If you are interested in volunteering or if you have any questions please contact our office at 574-1109 or email kyle.ethridge@louisvilleky.gov.

Attached please find a Change in Ownership memo and Courier Journal Legal advertisement for an NQ2 Restaurant Retail Drink and Sunday Liquor by the Drink License(s) being applied for, located at 3400 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY. 40207.  The ad ran in The Courier Journal Wednesday, July 15, 2015.

• Joella's CJ ad
• new location or ownership change

The next Crescent Hill Community Council "Outdoor Cinema" will take place this Saturday, July 25.The FREE outdoor movie featured will be Roxanne. All movies begin at dusk (around 9:30 pm) at the Peterson-Dumesnil House lawn (301 S. Peterson Avenue). Concessions will be available, but bring a picnic basket if you wish! Also, bring blankets or lawn chairs and bug spray. The Peterson-Dumesnil House will be open for use of Restrooms & Tours.

Cancellation decisions will be made at 4 pm on the day of the movie if there is a need to cancel the outdoor movie because of an inclement weather forecast.  Cancellation notices may be found on the Crescent Hill Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crescent-Hill-Community-Council/80640754355) and by calling the Peterson-Dumesnil House at 502-895-7975.

United Crescent Hill Ministries (UCHM), 150 S. State Street, collects school supplies during the summer months to distribute to families before school starts in August. They are collecting pens, pencils, loose leaf paper, folders, notebooks and backpacks to distribute this fall. Call Gayle or Karen at 893-0346 if you have any questions.

St. Matthews Area Ministries (St. MAM), 201 Biltmore Road, is hosting a “Back-to-School” supplies drive to assist children in need of school supplies. Specific items have been designated for collection during each week of July but you can donate any of these items now. Items may be dropped off at St. MAM or for pick-up information please contact Sarah Banks at 893-5704. School supplies will be distributed to families who live in 40207 at St. MAM on August 5th from 10 a.m. - Noon.

• July 5th – Pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, markers, crayons, yellow highlighters, colored pencils, and red pens.
• July 12th – Spiral notebooks, pocket folders, and loose leaf paper (college and wide ruled).
• July 20th Elmer’s glue, glue sticks, Fiskars blunt tip scissors, and small pencil sharpeners.
• July 26th – Composition notebooks, steno pads, backpacks, etc.

There is NO GUARANTEE that everyone will receive all supplies needed. Families must bring the following to St. MAM:

•  A photo ID
• Current piece of mail with Name and Address
• School supply list for each child
• Any questions, call Sarah at 893-5704

The food pantry at St. Matthews Area Ministries (St. MAM), located at Beechwood Baptist Church in Beechwood Village,  is recovering from a flood on July 12 – but still needs your help.   Water, which was as high as three feet in portions of the building, destroyed food supplies in the food pantry and some equipment.  The pantry has been closed since that time, although food was distributed outside on July 21 and will be again next Tuesday, July 28, from 10:30 am to Noon.  

St. MAM needs volunteers to help get the pantry in the building back in business.  Call Julie Abbott at 893-0205 to volunteer or to donate tables, freezers, plastic totes or shelving units.  Financial donations are also needed.   Donations can be made here:  http://www.youcaring.com/st-matthews-area-ministries-392220 or by mail to Julie Abbott, Executive Director, 201 Biltmore Road, Louisville, KY 40207.  

St. MAM serves the 40207 zip code, which includes much of District 9.  It brings together ten member churches to meet emergency needs, to stabilize families in transitional situations and to provide a nurturing and healthy environment for children.